Nicole Kidman Is Forever the Queen of Glamorous Hollywood Style

In Hollywood, there are actors, and then there are actors. Nicole Kidman—who was announced today as a co-chair of the 2026 Met Gala, alongside Beyoncé, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour—is certainly the latter.

The Oscar-winner is one of the world’s most in-demand actors, creating a buzz with every project she appears in—from TV dramas to silver screen blockbusters. And those who stay tuned to red carpets know: Kidman’s illustrious career has also been marked by an A-list wardrobe.

Rising to fame in the early 1990s, Kidman has long used the red carpet to experiment and have fun with fashion. She has especially mastered Old Hollywood glamour, gravitating towards custom and fresh-off-the-runway gowns that sparkle opposite the paparazzi flashbulbs.

That’s not to say her style hasn’t shifted over the years. In the early days, Kidman often embraced the sleeker, more minimal designs of the ’90s. One of the first times she attended the Oscars, back in 1991, she opted for a simple black velvet LBD, though it came with ornate bejeweled trim. Later, at the 1997 Oscars, she stepped out in a now-iconic chartreuse Dior couture gown by John Galliano. “The embroidery on it, and the shape of it—everything was just so beautiful,” Kidman later said of the dress.

As Kidman's career ascended, her fashion choices became more heightened and theatrical. In 2003, when she won the Oscar for her turn as Virginia Woolf in The Hours, she chose a one-shouldered strappy black gown courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture; it was the perfect mix of classic-meets-contemporary, and more than two decades later, it feels just as modern. Ditto for her 2007 Oscars column gown, a shocking red Balenciaga number with a big bow tied at the neck.

More recently, Kidman has been a regular at the Met Gala, delivering plenty of fashion fantasies on the famous Met steps. (It’s no wonder she was tapped to co-chair the next party!) In 2023, for the Karl Lagerfeld–themed exhibition, she revived an archival Chanel gown that she wore in her iconic Baz Luhrmann commercial for Chanel No. 5; and at both the 2024 and 2025 galas, she reached for re-creations of archival Balenciaga gowns.

No matter the event, Kidman has always arrived dressed like the star that she is. And in honor of next year’s Met Gala, we’re taking a look back at some more of her best fashion moments over the years. See them below.